Jimmy Carter: Our Endangered Values : America's Moral Crisis - What does it mean to New YOrk

The recent release of Jimmy Carter’s book, Our Endangered Values : America's Moral Crisis, has caused a firestorm of debate among those who identify themselves as Christians. For most of those pundits who have posted blogs or reviews without having read the book, shame on you.

Mr. Carter has granted many interviews, to Larry King and National Public Radio to name a few, and has made it clear that his reasons for writing the book were tied to concern not only for the blurring of the line between church and state but also for the changing superstructure of religious organizations.

Here in New York, where religious and cultural pluralism is more pronounced than in any other part of the country, we tend not to pay much attention to such debates, as we feel impervious to the kind of overlordship that Carter hints at, vis-à-vis religious fundamentalism taking over the main organs of government. Religious fundamentalism is someone’s problem.

How does this affect us? What are the issues involved?

First, there is the notion that social responsibility should be in the hands of religious organizations – this is a clear and in-play part of Bush’s agenda. Think about this:

In New York (and also in New Jersey), disability insurance, paid for by employers, is mandated by law. The policies are purchased through private insurers. Employees who are disabled – on or off the job – receive compensatory pay during their recovery periods. For example, a woman who takes leave to have a baby will receive some pay to help her maintain her home and feed her family while she is out of work. Imagine a New York where such a disability benefit were controlled by a religious organization that is neither accountable for discriminatory practices nor taxed. Every citizen would have to become part of a religious organization – and these organizations can refuse membership or expel members at will – in order to receive benefits. This is no difference than preferential treatment for party members in the Communist systems that Americans have always decried. Forcing religious beliefs upon the populace is a step back to the dark ages. To criticize social programs as being left-wing humanism (and therefore anti-Christian) is to follow a circular logic so flawed at its base that all debate is eliminated.

Religious fundamentalism is fascism carrying a holy scepter. We disdain it when we see it abroad, and yet it is seeping into our lives every day. The more we ignore the political debates within the this city and state, the more we allow our rights, and the separation of church and state to be eroded.

Carter’s book and his willingness to talk about it, despite some of the angry and almost threatening chatter it has provoked, is a harbinger of struggles to come.

Tags:   bush agenda, fascism, jimmy carter, religious fundamentalism

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Posted on 11/5/2005 ( Permanent Link )
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